Caldew Lea School
Ashley Street, Carlisle, CA2 7BE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CUMBRIA EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Miss Ayesha Weston
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Cumbria Education Trust
- Constituency
- Carlisle
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 300
- Pupils on roll
- 273
- URN
- 147114
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01228526611
About this school
Caldew Lea School is a primary academy in Carlisle. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 273 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 30 | 39 | 45 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 37% | 64% | 56% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 10% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 50% | 72% | 62% |
| Expected standard in maths | 53% | 77% | 58% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 53% | 69% | 60% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 100.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 98.0 | 104.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.40 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Caldew Lea School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Cumberland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 37% | 53% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 64% | 52.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 56% | 54.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 239 |
| 2023/24 | 301 |
| 2024/25 | 264 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Caldew Lea School compares
Caldew Lea School ranked 56th of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 56% | 5.5% | 38.2% | 273 | — |
| St Bede's Catholic Primary School | 57% | 5.1% | 26.2% | 213 | 0.4 miles |
| Newtown Primary School | 55% | 5.6% | 63.9% | 131 | 0.5 miles |
| Robert Ferguson Primary School | 38% | 5.3% | 25.3% | 409 | 0.8 miles |
| Newlaithes Junior School | 50% | 4.8% | 18.6% | 236 | 0.9 miles |
| Newlaithes Infant School | — | 4.5% | 12.4% | 196 | 0.9 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 38.15%
- English as an additional language
- 37.9%
- Overall absence
- 5.5%
- Persistent absence
- 18.65%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Bede's Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Carlisle
-
Newtown Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Carlisle
-
Robert Ferguson Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Carlisle
-
Newlaithes Junior School0.9 miles
Primary · Carlisle
-
Newlaithes Infant School0.9 miles
Primary · Carlisle
Other schools in Carlisle
Caldew Lea School ranks 24th of the 40 ranked primary schools in Carlisle.
- Armathwaite School Primary
- Belle Vue Primary School Primary
- Bewcastle School Primary
- Blackford CofE Primary School Primary
- Brook Street Primary School Primary
- Burgh by Sands School Primary
- Crosby-on-Eden CofE School Primary
- Cummersdale School Primary
- Cumwhinton School Primary
- Great Corby School and Nursery Primary
- Great Orton Primary School Primary
- High Hesket CofE School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Caldew Lea School teach?
- Caldew Lea School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Carlisle.
- Who is the headteacher of Caldew Lea School?
- The headteacher of Caldew Lea School is Miss Ayesha Weston, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Caldew Lea School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Caldew Lea School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Caldew Lea School?
- Caldew Lea School has 273 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Caldew Lea School full?
- Caldew Lea School has capacity for 300 pupils and 273 on roll (91%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Caldew Lea School a faith school?
- No. Caldew Lea School has no designated religious character.
- Does Caldew Lea School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Caldew Lea School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Caldew Lea School?
- Caldew Lea School is part of CUMBRIA EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Caldew Lea School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 37% in 2022/23 and 56% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Caldew Lea School rank locally?
- Caldew Lea School ranked 56th of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Caldew Lea School's absence rate?
- Caldew Lea School's overall absence rate is 5.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Caldew Lea School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Caldew Lea School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 10 July 2026.